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Hurricanes

St. John ferries are back

Ferry boats are arriving again at the Cruz Bay dock.

Ferry_3 This is a shot of from the St. John Spicecam, taken at about 12:15 p.m.  It could be the Noon from Red Hook, or someplace else.  It is not the first load of folks to arrive; they began coming via various boats after 10 a.m.

As a bonus, look at the bottom left of the picture – the infamous beach where people write things for folks back home to see.

Today's sand-scrit says "Bye Earl".

Speaking of the Spicecam, it's been very very popular since the weekend.  Even today, getting something like 1,200 visitors a minute.

That’s our FEMA, part 2

You can't make this stuff up.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency just e-mailed this to reporters … at 4:25pm Tuesday!  makes you think they started writing these things 10 days ago and are parceling them out now.

WASHINGTON – As Hurricane Earl moves toward Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and then up toward the East Coast of the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is urging all Americans in East Coast states to take steps …"

Is this really better late than never?

Westin beach littered by damaged boats

While the Westin Resort said it suffered "minimal" damage from Earl, and no structural damage, the same cannot be said for folks with boats moored in Great Cruz Bay.


Twoboats Bob Egan, a guest from West Falmouth, Mass, staying at the Westin, was on the beach today shooting video and stills of the day after.

Westinbeach He said 'some pretty nice vintage boats' litter the beach, eight in all, including a 30-foot "Cape" and a cabin cruiser.

For folks like himself, staying at the resort, the storm was just a 'bad, rainy day.'

Police and Red Cross workers, he said, were also seen at the Westin today.

You can see Egan's stills and videos, loaded onto CNN's iReport Web site, here.

Westin says damage ‘minimal’

An announcement from the Westin St. John says Earl was no big deal. The resort "experienced minimal damage to our outdoor areas and the property did not sustain any structural damage. The resort team is currently cleaning up landscaping debris. Our associates and customers are all safe."

While the Beach Cafe and pool will reopen Wednesday, and the Snorkels bar/restaurant will be back in operation Friday, the beach is closed "until the necessary water safety tests have been completed."

The morning after ain’t pretty

Thanks to Doug Benton, aka 'Crabby' of Crabby's Watersports in Coral Bay, we're getting a better and bitter idea of St. John a day after Earl.

In a lengthy post including information from about half a dozen locals, Crabby says:

  • Power's out on St. John; could be down for a week
  • Land phone lines are working.
  • The dock at the Westin's gone. Six boats on the beach.
  • Chocolate Hole beach is littered with boats that were torn from their moorings.

Read Crabby's full report here:

St. John: Morning after at 10:45 a.m.

Island artist Sloop Jones said his East End neighborhood weathered the storm in OK fashion. 

Asked about damages, Jones said "Nothing out here. This was a small powerful storm.  Maybe three inches of rain.  We had one serious blow for about 20 minutes, around 60 mph."

He did have a close call, though. "Around 6 a.m. Monday,  I moved my car.  20 minutes later a tree fell where my car was!"

Elsewhere, "Rain came down in sheets," another East End resident, Stephen Hull, told the St. John Source's report.

Sloop Jones, by the way, said he spent most of Monday online, doing e-mail and other e-chores, despite power flickers.  He has another business, Dish 'n Dat, which installs HughesNet dishes which provide Internet access via satellite.

Hurricane Earl: the morning after

Spicecam1 The weather is overcast in Cruz Bay but the St. John Spicecam is back in business. 

Some may say the dinghy dock is repairable; it sure did get beat up.  Surprisingly, moored boats in the harbor are still moored. The camera shows no boats or debris washed up on the beach.

None of the other island webcams (Villa Serendipity at Chocolate Hole, St. John Brewers, Amarosa/Peter Bay) were showing much at 10:15 a.m.

Chain saws, hammering, and the voices of folks cleaning up limbs and debris can be heard around the island.  The entrance to Fish Bay has been blocked by a few downed trees.  A resident at Mamey Peak said she heard trees cracking during the later part of the storm, Monday afternoon.

Crabby of Coral Bay said  he was able to stay ion touch during the storm. "Everyone I've been in contact with still has hard-line phone service — and that is great news."

St. John: Hurricane update 4:45 p.m. EDT

Crabby of Coral Bay (Crabby Watersports equipment rentals" is off island, but in touch by phone (phones are working, landlines or cell, not sure).  At StormCarib.com, he wrote:

Here is the latest from several people on the eastern side of St. John, USVI — there are a few branches down, but very little damage reported at this point  during the passing of Hurricane Earl.  There are wind gusts reported around 40  mphs, and that has been ongoing, but limited rain.  Power has been off and on,
mainly off right now. Internet is spotty if at all."